Rugged Panasonic Tablets

After the Panasonic debut of the first rugged laptop almost 30 years ago, it quickly became apparent that it didn't fit all mission parameters for all users. With a priority on durability, a rugged laptop typically is heavy and sacrifices mobility for being able to survive rugged conditions. While a rugged clamshell laptop fit requirements for many users needing to engage technology in an extreme environment, a more mobile rugged computer was sorely needed. With some users not needing the functionality of a keyboard, eliminating it was the logical next step to cut down on weight and increase mobility. In the early 2000's, Panasonic debuted the first rugged tablet to the TOUGHBOOK family: the CF-07. With evolving technology, Panasonic continued to roll out new versions of its immensely popular rugged tablet every few years.

The Need for a Rugged Keyboard

While having an option of a rugged clamshell laptop or the mobility of a rugged tablet fit many TOUGHBOOK customer needs, the ven diagram of overlap still had a middle class of customer that needed the tablet for most of the computer operation but required a keyboard for frequent tasks. Peripheral keyboards were designed by after market partners - such as iKey - to pair with the rugged Panasonic tablets. A popular keyboard that docked with a rugged tablet was the iKey IK-PAN-FZG1-C1-V5 which nested with the fully rugged FZ-G1. Immensely popular, the iKey keyboard allowed users to utilize the mobility of the rugged FZ-G1 and pair it with a keyboard for typing intensive tasks such as report writing.

Panasonic Rugged Optimization

Having to buy a rugged computer from one manufacturer and then a supporting peripheral from a separate manufacturer caused issues with customer fulfillment. Varied lead times, availability, shipping dates and different warranty coverage made it apparent that the need for a one box customer solution was still required. The CF-20 TOUGHBOOK merged the desired features of a rugged tablet and a rugged keyboard into one OEM computer solution and the 2-in-1 laptop form factor was born. With seamless docking connection, the CF-20 featured a keyboard that was no only removable and fully rugged but also added additional interface ports and even a spare battery to the user experienced. Panasonic expanded on the 2-in-1 laptop form factors with the larger CF-33 computer and the CF-20 successor: the FZ-G2. The 2-in-1 laptop continues to be one of the most popular rugged computer form factors to this day and is used by a wide range of customers from public safety and military to private companies and the oil and gas industry.